


To Hurt And To Love

by jetterwetter



Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018)
Genre: Angst, Comfort, Hurt, M/M, Wounded, foot, rottmnt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-16
Updated: 2019-01-16
Packaged: 2019-10-11 02:45:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17438426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jetterwetter/pseuds/jetterwetter
Summary: What happens when Don loses his battle shell?





	To Hurt And To Love

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place after The Purple Jacket episode.

“Stupid nerds with their oh so beautiful stupid jackets.” Donatello mumbled angrily and a little sadly. “Stupid Kendra, fried the wiring.” Little puffs of smoke were flying past as his head as he used a soldering tool on one of his broken tech shells. He had his goggles on for protection against any unruly sparks that may fly towards his face. 

Don was still incredibly upset about all the chain of events that happened not too long ago. He thought that he was finally going to be apart of a group that would understand him. They just turned out to be using him for their own gain. Then he didn’t even get to keep that magnificent jacket. He would never again feel that luscious satin against his skin. “Curse these hands! They can create high grade weaponized battle shells, but alas they will never be able to tailor something with as much beauty as that fabulous garment.”

“Are you in here talking to yourself?” Leonardo stuck his head through to doorway to Don’s lab. “It sounds like you’re losing the argument.”

“Shut it. I’m not in the mood. Today is not my day. I lost the love of my life.” Donnie said sternly, not bothering to look back at Leo.

Leonardo raised a brow and walked further into the room. “Huh, weird I thought I was the love of your life. I see you’re not wearing that jacket you so kindly showed all of us.”

Donatello raised his goggles and snapped his head around. If looks could kill, Leo would be six feet under. Donnie glared at him. If life had sound effects, Leo would have heard a cougar roar. He turned back around, put his goggles back down, and began working again. 

Leonardo smiled but it slowly disappeared. He noticed Don wasn’t wearing one of his tech shells. “Hey, what are you working on?” He asked, leaning against Donnie’s work desk. 

“What does is look like? Some kids, who I totally didn’t hope would be my friends, broke my battle shells. So, now I have to fix them. Maybe upgrade them in the process.” Donatello answered as he kept working. 

Leo’s eyes widened slightly. “Wait, wait, wait. You’re telling me that you gave some kids your, as you call them, your babies?” He asked incredulously.

“Well, they weren’t kids. They were in April’s class, and no I didn’t give it to them. They stole it, like the wonderfully, stupid hackers they are.” Don explained with a sigh. He put his soldering tool down, and then put his goggles back on top of his head. 

Leonardo could see the hurt look in Donnie’s eyes. “You always got us. Also, personally, I like you better with nothing on.” Leo winked and smirked. 

Donatello smiled softly. “Thank you, Leo.” He stood up and wrapped his arms around his partner. 

Leonardo hesitantly returned the hug. He put his hands gingerly in Donnie’s back. It felt rubbery, soft, and a little pokey all at once. As much as he loved to feel his lovers shell, it also scared him. It was so much more fragile than the others shells. They learned the hard way when they were little how easily Don could get hurt. Those weren’t the best childhood memories. “Hey, uh, Don? Should we get the pillow?” He asked nervously. 

Donatello pulled away quickly. “No! I’m not a child anymore. I can take care of myself.” Donnie said indignantly. 

Leonardo didn’t get a chance to answer as Don stormed out of the room, grabbing his hoodie and staff before leaving. Leo groaned as he rubbed his temples. Donatello could really be a pain in his side at times, but he still loved him. Leo sighed and then walked out of the room. Donnie was already out of sight. 

Donatello had already made it out of the sewers and onto the streets. He felt like he was being fueled by a mix of anger, frustration, and sadness. It definitely wasn’t a feeling he was new to though. He climbed up a fire escape and onto the rooftops. He thought about going to April’s, but then he though that the others would find him too easily if he went there. He just wanted some time to himself. So, instead, he jumped a few rooftops and landed on one that he thought was a decent enough distance away. 

Don threw his legs over the side of the roof, and sat there, watching the street below. The cool night air brushed against his face and felt refreshing. He hated feeling this way. Without his tech shells, he felt that no one trusted him to be safe. He knew that he was softer than the others and he hated it. 

Donatello’s attention was drawn to an alley across the street. He noticed trash cans rolling around like they were knocked over. He squinted his eyes and could see some dark figures moving around in the alley. Don stood up and readied his staff. 

‘I’ll show them I’m still just as capable without my second shell.’ Donnie thought as he hopped some more roofs to reach the other side of the street. He perched on the side of the building and looked down. 

It was the two guys with the flaming foot heads. The big one was holding a normal guy up by the collar and up against the wall. “Just tell us where it is.” The smaller one insisted in his gravelly voice in a threatening tone. 

Donatello quickly jumped from the roof and down into the alleyway. “I see that thievery wasn’t enough you guys; you had to resort to assault.” Don leaned on his staff. “How about you let the guy go, and nobody gets hurt.” 

The two foot heads stopped and looked in his direction. The big guy dropped the man he was holding, then turned to Donatello. He cracked all of his knuckles on both hands in turn menacingly. “I’m sick of you green freaks.” He growled, taking a step towards Donnie. 

“The only thing I see is how freakishly tubby you are, toe jam.”

All four of them looked up to see Leonardo looking down at them from the rooftop above. He had one of his mischievous grins on his face. “I think we need to cut you guys down a few feet.” Leo snickered. 

Donatello couldn’t help but smile. He hadn’t forgot that he was still mad, but something about that red striped face just made him so happy. Suddenly, the smile was literally wiped off of Donnie’s face. The big guy had swung his giant fist, backhanding him straight into the alley wall. Don felt his shell flatten against the wall as he let out an agonizing scream. 

“Let’s get out of here.” The smaller one said in his raspy voice.The two bad guys grabbed the guy on the ground and took off around and out of the alley way. 

“Donnie!” Leo called out frantically. He quickly scaled down the fire escape to reach the wounded turtle. 

“That was a hit. Okay, yeah. That hurt.” Donatello grumbled in between strained breaths. He broke out in a fit of coughs, quickly covering his mouth with his hand. When the coughing stopped he pulled his hand away. It felt like a stone dropped in his stomach when he noticed that there was blood spattered in his hand. 

“Don… You’re bleeding…” Leo’s voice shook. He looked like he wanted to reach for Donatello, but it was obvious he feared he would hurt him. 

“It’s okay. It’s just my organs.” Don tried to chuckle but ended up grunting in pain. 

“Can you sit up? I need to get a look at your shell.” Leonardo seemed to gain his composure. His voice was steady and authoritative. On the inside though, he was coming unglued. His lover, his friend was hurt, and he really wasn’t entirely sure what to do about it. 

Donatello groaned as he did what he was told and sat forward. Leo pulled out a little throwing knife from his pouch. He proceeded to cut the back of Don’s hoodie. 

In any other circumstance, Donatello would have objected with all of his being. It was his favorite hoodie, but he was in too much pain to utter a single word at the moment. When Leo finished cutting, Donnie slipped his hoodie off like a backwards jacket. 

Leonardo ground his teeth together, trying to outwardly keep his cool. He looked at Don’s soft shell. There were cuts all over his shell where parts had dug into the corners of the bricks on the wall. Blood was trickling down from the wounds, like raindrops on a window. Leo also noticed that bruises were already starting pop up on the shell. Certain spots were more flattened than others, and that’s where the majority of bruises were. It definitely didn’t look good. 

“You were right.” Donnie sputtered in a raspy, strained voice. “I should’ve listened. I-“

“No, don’t talk like that.” Leonardo abruptly stood up. He pulled out his sword and made a portal. “We’re going home, and you’re going to be fine.” Leo put a hand out towards Donatello, offering it. Once Don took his hand, he pulled him up, and then lead him through the portal. All the while, Donatello made this soft, whiny noise. 

They walked into Donnie’s lab, the portal closing behind them. Don shrugged away Leo’s grip. He went to hobble over to his desk, and grabbed his chair on the way, trying to steady himself. Instead, the chair rolled out from under him, sending him to the ground. 

Leo rushed over and kneeled beside the injured turtle. “What are you doing?! Just stay still.” Leonardo grabbed his shoulder, leaning him back up into a sitting position. “You were just saying that I was right, and now you’re going to act stubborn?”

Donnie grimaced and wouldn’t meet Leo’s gaze. He gulped, trying to swallow the pain. He wanted to talk, to show his protest to the others help. The pain was so sharp, and he felt like he couldn’t breathe. He felt his eyes roll back; then everything turned black. 

——————————————

Donatello slowly opened his eyes. They felt almost like they were glued shut. When he finally managed to open them, he noticed he was face down on top of one of his work tables. He pushed himself up with his hands, his body disagreeing. His whole body felt sore. He sat on the table, with his legs dangling off. He noticed that more than half of his torso was covered in bandaging, most likely leading to his shell. 

Donnie looked back up and saw that Leonardo was sitting in a seat beside the table. He was hunched over, with his head in one hand, snoring softly.

Don couldn’t help but smile. The blue banded turtle was just too cute for him to handle. He furrowed his brow as he remembered the anger he felt before he passed out. He had been so frustrated. He didn’t want anyone’s help. He wanted to be strong, and take care of himself. Instead he had just proved that he couldn’t do any of that. 

Leo twitched and then jerked up, as if some sixth sense had told him that Don was awake. 

“Hey, sleeping beauty.” Donnie teased with a smirk. 

Leonardo rubbed his eyes, looking like he hadn’t got any sleep at all. “You’re one to talk. Before I passed out, you were coming up on ten hours of being unconscious.” He stood up and stumbled over to the injured turtle. He flopped over, placing his head on Donnie’s shoulder. 

Donatello’s eyes widened as he looked down at Leo. He put his hand up, wanting to comfort him, but felt unsure. “L-Leo?” He asked timidly, his voice a little gravelly. 

“I was scared you wouldn’t wake up. You’re so…” Leonardo scrunched his face up. 

Don took a deep breath, feeling his anger from before bubbling back up. He grabbed Leonardo’s shoulders, pushing him off of his own shoulder. “I’m so what, Leo? Stupid? Weak? You think I don’t know all that?! I’m sick of being the weak one! Just because I’m a little different! I don’t want you all to have to look after me! I see the looks you all give me. I hate it.” Don’s voice cracked, and he started sobbing. 

“Don, no that’s not what I meant!” Leo said frantically, regretting his words. He grabbed Donnie’s head and pulled it to his chest. “You’re not stupid. You’re obviously far from that. We don’t think you’re weak, Don. We just, you know, we love you. We don’t want you to get hurt, and yeah, maybe we take it too far sometimes.” 

Donatello sniffed and nuzzled his head into Leo’s chest. “Say that again.” He mumbled. 

“We take it too far?”

“No, before that.” 

“We don’t want you to get hurt?”

“Nuh-uh.” 

“We love you?”

“Yeah, that.” Don smirked, wrapping his arms around Leo. 

Leonardo chuckled and laid his chin on top of Donnie’s head. “Well, I love you. More than those other two. We fought to the death for you while you were asleep. So, surprise, you gotta help me hide the bodies.” 

Donatello pulled away while laughing. “My hero... I love you too.” He winced, clenching his fists. “This will take a while to heal.” He said, sadly. 

“I’ll be right here while it does.” Leonardo smiled a gentle smile. He was so glad that Don was standing in front of him in one piece. “We can work on your battle shells.”

“You can be my assistant. I get to call you Igor from now on.” Donatello said matter of factly. 

“Yes, master.” Leo imitated Igor, hunching over and talking like him. 

They both laughed at themselves. Don still kind of had this pained look on his face though. 

“For now you need to rest though. No arguing either.” Leonardo said sternly. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” He placed both hands on Donnie’s cheeks, slowly leaning forward to press his lips on the others. It was a sensation he would never get over. The softness of Donatello’s lips were all he needed. The kiss was soft and didn’t last long. “You need bed rest for now.”

“Yes, nurse Leo.” Don said with a loving look in his eyes. His insecurities flew away as he stared into those gentle eyes.


End file.
